French Word of the Day: Débarquement
This is the French term for an event that you'll likely be familiar with.
Why do I need to know Débarquement?
Because if you are discussing World War II history with a French person, this term will likely come up.
What does it mean?
Débarquement - roughly pronounced day-bar-kuh-mahn - translates as ‘landing’ in English.
The (capitalised) word holds a very special place in French (and world) history, as it refers to D-Day - the day when Allied forces began the Normandy Landings in 1944, which launched the Western Allied effort to liberate France from Nazi Germany.
French people also use the term ‘Jour-J’ to talk about D-Day, but le Débarquement (or the full version - le débarquement de Normandie) is equally popular, referring to all of the Allies’ amphibious and airborne military operations during the night of June 5th-6th in 1944.
Unlike Jour-J, which is also used to describe other important days or key dates in the calendar, le Débarquement is pretty much only used when discussing the Normandy landings.
Use it like this
Les vétérans survivants étaient présents lors du 80e anniversaire du Débarquement. - The surviving veterans were present at the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Plusieurs chefs d'État assisteront à une cérémonie en souvenir du Débarquement. - Several heads of state will attend a ceremony remembering D-Day.
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Why do I need to know Débarquement?
Because if you are discussing World War II history with a French person, this term will likely come up.
What does it mean?
Débarquement - roughly pronounced day-bar-kuh-mahn - translates as ‘landing’ in English.
The (capitalised) word holds a very special place in French (and world) history, as it refers to D-Day - the day when Allied forces began the Normandy Landings in 1944, which launched the Western Allied effort to liberate France from Nazi Germany.
French people also use the term ‘Jour-J’ to talk about D-Day, but le Débarquement (or the full version - le débarquement de Normandie) is equally popular, referring to all of the Allies’ amphibious and airborne military operations during the night of June 5th-6th in 1944.
Unlike Jour-J, which is also used to describe other important days or key dates in the calendar, le Débarquement is pretty much only used when discussing the Normandy landings.
Use it like this
Les vétérans survivants étaient présents lors du 80e anniversaire du Débarquement. - The surviving veterans were present at the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Plusieurs chefs d'État assisteront à une cérémonie en souvenir du Débarquement. - Several heads of state will attend a ceremony remembering D-Day.
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